CABARET-ROUGE BRITISH CEMETERY
Souchez
Pas de Calais
France
General Directions: Souchez is a village 3.5 kilometres north of Arras on the main road to Bethune. The cemetery is about 1.5 kilometres south of the village on the west side of the D937 Arras-Bethune Road.
On 26 September 1915, Souchez was taken from the
Germans by French troops, who handed the sector over to Commonwealth forces
the following March. The village was completely destroyed.
The "Cabaret Rouge" was a house on the main road about 1 kilometre south of
the village, at a place called Le Corroy, near the cemetery. On the east
side, opposite the cemetery, were dugouts used as battalion headquarters in
1916. The communication trenches ended here, including a very long one named
from the Cabaret.
The cemetery was begun by Commonwealth troops in March 1916, used until
August 1917 (largely by the 47th (London) Division and the Canadian Corps)
and - at intervals - until September 1918; these original burials are in
Plots I to V inclusive. It was greatly enlarged after the Armistice when
more than 7,000 graves were brought in from the battlefields of Arras and
from 103 other burial grounds in the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais.
The cemetery now contains 7,655 Commonwealth burials of the First World War,
more than half of them unidentified. There is also one Second World War
burial.
The cemetery was designed by Sir
Frank Higginson
On 25 May 2000, the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier were
entrusted to Canada at a ceremony held at the Vimy Memorial, France. The
remains had been exhumed by staff of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
from Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez, Plot 8, Row E, Grave 7. The
remains were laid to rest within the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in a
sarcophagus placed at the foot of the National War Memorial, Confederation
Square, Ottawa, Canada.
Shot at Dawn: 8225 Lance Corporal P. Sands, 1st Bn. Royal Irish Rifles, executed for desertion 15/09/1915. Special memorial 41, originally buried in Fleurbaix Churchyard, his grave is now lost.
Shot at Dawn: 26248 Private J. Wishard, 7th Bn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, executed for desertion 15/06/1917. Special memorial 51, originally buried in Merris Churchyard, his grave is now lost.
The mass pardon of 306 British Empire soldiers executed for certain offences during the Great War was enacted in section 359 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, which came into effect on royal assent on 8 November 2006.
Casualty Details: UK 6725, Canada 749, Australia 116, New Zealand 7, South Africa 43, India 15, Germany 4, Total Burials: 7659
Captain
John Martin, MC.
"A" Coy. 8th/10th Bn. Gordon Highlanders
09/04/17, aged 28.
Son of James and Euphemia Carrick Barclay Martin. Born at Edinburgh.
Plot XVII. J. 48.
More details of this officers life and service can be found here Captain John Martin, MC.
Photograph courtesy of Gordon Caldecott
3770 Private
Ernest S. Gumbrell
13th Bn. Royal Sussex Regiment
30/06/1916
Plot XV. O. 39
Picture courtesy of Neil Bertram
9350 Private
Alfred Skellham
2nd Bn. Northamptonshire Regiment
19/01/1915, aged 23.
Son of Mr. J. Skellham, of York Row, Brigstock, Northants.
Plot XVII. F. 19.
Picture courtesy of great, great niece, Sarah Ruddick
11793 Lance Corporal
Harry Kettlety
3rd Bn. Grenadier Guards
07/08/1918, aged 32.
Husband of Ethel Mary Kettlety, of 36, Jenkins St., Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.
Plot VIII. K. 33.
He joined the
Grenadier Guards in 1914, although he was a
serving Detective Constable in the Burslem Police in Staffordshire.
Picture courtesy of Great nephew, John Bradbury
7293 Private
William Jarvie
8th Bn. Highland Light Infantry
18/07/1916
son of Mr and Mrs Jarvie, of Woodlands Square, Law, Carluke. William was formerly a miner.
Plot IV. B. 21.
Picture courtesy of Jean Thomson
Lieutenant
James Kay
5th Canadian Siege Battery,
Canadian Garrison Artillery
28/07/1917, aged 29.
Plot II. A. 1
Picture courtesy of step great-niece, Alana Farrell
27755 Private
Thomas Higham
1st Bn. The King's (Liverpool Regiment)
01/06/1916
Plot III. B. 15.
ENTRY FROM THE WAR DIARY OF THE 1ST BN KING'S LIVERPOOL REGIMENT;
1st June 1916
VIMY RIDGE
Quiet morning. Heavy shelling all afternoon increasing in violence until it died away about midnight after the attack. After a bombardment of the enemy line, which left the section we were to attack very much as it was before, three bombing parties attacked up ERSATZ ALLEY, B. HARTUNG and B. GOBRON. The intention was that these parties should establish themselves in the enemy line and each bomb to the left. After they had cleared the trench and had got touch with each other, they were to dig in and consolidate. In the event of their being successful a forth party was ready at the top of B. TANGHOT to get into communication with them at MOMBER CRATER. Reserve parties were ready to support the attack and advance dumps of bombs and R.E. Stores were established. The party on the right under Lt. Jamieson came under a shell barrage on their way up the communication trench and were wiped out without being able to close with the enemy. Their supporting party had no better luck. The centre party under Lt. Head effected an entrance into the hostile trench, and though subjected to a sever fire, remained there for about three quarters of an hour. Finally they were ordered to withdraw as the two parties on their flanks had been unsuccessful. This they did slowly and in good order. The left party under Lt. Hewson found themselves enfiladed by machine gun fire. They made several attempts and lost heavily and finally were ordered to abandon the enterprise. There were about 80 casualties including the Adjutant, Lt. Thomson, 2/Lt. Hewson and 2/Lt. Head all wounded.
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Thomas Higham was married on 16 December 1914 to Annie Gregory, at the Parish Church, Ince in Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire. It was a joint wedding with Annie's sister Margaret Maria Gregory and James William Babington.
Both men joined the army and Tommy was killed in action, James became a Sapper with the Royal Engineers and survived.
Thomas and Annie had one child Florence M Higham, born March 1916 and who died 19 Jan 1918.
Annie never re-married and died of cancer aged 39 on 27 March 1935.
Picture courtesy of Mary Gregory, wife of Annie's nephew, Roy
78500 Private
Henry Jones
87th Bn. Canadian Infantry
(Quebec Regiment)
16/08/1917, aged 30.
Son of Annie Jones, of 19, West Parade, Rhyl, and the late Hugh Jones,
of 19 West Parade in the North Wales seaside town of Rhyl.
Plot VII. J. 12.
Henry Jones emigrated to Canada before the war in order to find work, he joined the Canadian forces on the outbreak of war.
He was wounded twice and died aged of his injuries, aged 30, on the 16th of August 1917, whilst in a German hospital in the Arras area
This information is supplied by his
great niece, Mrs Gaynor Williams who still lives close to the home of his
mother in Rhyl.
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